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Give STL Day on May 9th
St. Louis Community Foundation's annual Give STL Day is this Thursday, May 9th! We hope that Employment Connection is on your list of St. Louis non-profit organizations to support.
Individual contributions are key to pursuing our mission of breaking down barriers to self-sufficiency for people with limited opportunities. Donations help to support our comprehensive employment, behavioral health, and housing programs.
Can't wait til May 9th? Early giving is now open!
New Client Services Kiosk at Employment Connection HQ
We recently installed a brand-new kiosk in our lobby! This new device allows our clients to complete requests for services on the screen, scan, print, and email the documents to EC staff.
Clients are also able to view important websites, such as Ameren, Spire, Missouri American Water, MSD, United Way of Greater St. Louis, St. Louis Housing Authority, and the St. Louis County Housing Authority, to allow them to view important information.
DOCY and VPC present Beats with Impact
Our Dutchtown Opportunity Coalition for Youth is hosting an 8-week music production course for youth ages 13+ this summer at Thomas Dunn Learning Center! This program is made possible with the support of the St. Louis Violence Prevention Commission.
To learn more and register, contact Sal Martinez at martinezs@employmentstl.org or (314) 333-5622.
Anheuser-Busch, Big Shark Bicycles, and United Way of Greater St. Louis Donate Bikes
Anheuser-Busch and the United Way of Greater St. Louis hosted a bike-building project in April in support of Employment Connection’s clients! A-B staff assembled 25 adult bicycles in partnership with Big Shark Bicycle Company personnel, and each new bike package also included a helmet, lock, and a sports water bottle that were inserted into a special nylon drawstring bag.
At our next World of Work job readiness training, a lucky graduate won a drawing to be one of the first recipients of these brand-new bikes!
Special thanks to the United Way of Greater St. Louis and Anheuser-Busch for their continued support of Employment Connection and our clients!
Schnucks Volunteers at Employment Connection
Volunteers from Schnucks assisted us with reorganizing our clothing closet and assisting in other administrative tasks. Thanks to Schnucks executive Schron Jackson for coordinating this successful activity!
The State of Public Safety Crime Summit
Employment Connection CEO Sal Martinez joined other leaders from non-profits, education, business, and government for a discussion of the state of public safety in St. Louis. The summit took place at St. Louis University on April 27th and was hosted by The Ethics Project.
Green Jobs Update
Our spring Green Jobs Program training cohort has been busy! Clients visited the Missouri Botanical Garden and Shaw Nature Reserve to learn about native plants and landscape design, worked with Forest ReLeaf of Missouri to plant trees in Gravois Park, and visited the Fresh Starts Community Garden to help prepare for the growing season.
Special thanks to Employment Connection career specialist Carlette Smith, who has attended every Green Jobs training class and field visit to support our clients through their exciting journey!
Breaking Down Barriers
We're delighted to partner with ARCHS for our Breaking Down Barriers program. The program serves St. Louis City and County residents ages 18–24, or people of any age with children under 18, seeking assistance towards achieving self-sufficiency. Contact us at (314) 333-JOBS for more information.
World of Work Update
The number of clients who have completed WOW so far in 2024 (through April 30th) represent an 80% increase when compared to the number of clients who completed WOW as of April 30, 2023.
Compliments to Career Services Specialist Shantel and the World of Work program:
Hello Ms. Towns,
I just wanted to say thank you for the WOW classes and to thank you for the knowledge and inspiration you passed on to all of us. Thank you for your time and I hope you have a great rest of your week.
Highest Regards,
Fred Steele
We are so proud of the increasing number of clients that have reached out to us for assistance this year!
Team EC Out and About
Special thanks to our Green Jobs Roots of Success instructor Richard Reilly for bringing enough safety glasses for our WOW and Green Jobs clients to witness the solar eclipse!
We recently celebrated the 86th birthday of our EC teammate Oscar—happy birthday! Oscar has been a valuable staff member for many years and we were all excited to help him celebrate his big day!
MWS Is Hiring!
Managed Work Services, Employment Connection's social enterprise staffing agency, is now hiring for housekeeping and environmental services positions in area hospitals. These opportunities can lead to permanent positions with full benefits, as our clients can attest to:
Hope all is well with you Ms. Jackie!
I wanted to say I appreciate everything that you and Employment Connection did for me last year. I came in as a temporary employee through your MWS program last February and got hired in June as a housekeeper. In October I was then promoted to EVS Lead because of my hard work. I was in very despondent mental state when Employment Connection first took me in. EC has a lot of reinforcement and support programs to help you achieve and gain accolades. I would not be at employed as part of the hospital system I work in if it weren't for Employment Connection. I recommend this program to people who want to get their feet in the door and strive to be successful.
—Elijah S.
Rave reviews for Jackie and the Managed Work Services Team! Learn more at MWSSTL.com or by calling (314) 333-5600.
There's much more going on at Employment Connection! Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn to stay up to date with all of our programs and events in St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and St. Clair County.
If you're not already receiving our monthly newsletter in your inbox, click here to sign up.